Documentary Heritage Report
Contents
Item
Subject
Page
1.
Chairman’s Acknowledgements
1
2.
Introduction
1
3.
The Libraries and Record Offices
2
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
4.
Lambeth Palace Library
Church of England Record Centre, Bermondsey, London
Library of the Council for the Care of Churches and
Cathedrals Fabric Commission
The Hurd Library at Hartlebury Castle, Worcestershire
Assessment
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
Records Management
Accommodation and Storage
Electronic Media
Outreach
2
5
6
8
9
9
10
10
10
5.
Conclusion
11
6.
Recommendation
12
Appendix 1
Members and Terms of Reference
13
Appendix 2
Summary of Responses
15
Chairman’s Acknowledgements
1.
I wish to place on record my thanks to my fellow members of the documentary heritage review
group who have put in so much time and effort to this review. Their expertise has been
invaluable. The Church is fortunate indeed to have had the benefit of their services.
2.
I also wish to record my special gratitude for the late Mr Michael Smethurst’s contribution to
the group’s work. His death last year was a very sad loss.
3.
Finally, I am very grateful to all those who responded to the group’s consultation. Their insights
greatly aided our work.
2.
Introduction
4.
The terms of reference of the review group set up in 1999 to look at the needs and resources of
Bishops and of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York included a remit to consider the
organisational structures within Lambeth Palace, including the Lambeth Palace Library. As part of
its work, therefore, the review group examined the Library’s history and its holdings, the
relationship of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Library and the Library’s management
structure, funding, accommodation and staff.
5.
The second of the group’s two reports, Resourcing Archbishops, was published in 2002. It
recommended that “the [Church] Commissioners should conduct an immediate review of the housing
and conservation of the Church of England’s documentary heritage and the provision of access to it for
members of the Church and the public generally….focused on the [Lambeth Palace] Library, recognising
that it is an important part but by no means the entirety of that heritage. The review should, therefore,
have regard to other relevant collections….” (Resourcing Archbishops, chapter 17, page 202).
6.
The Church Commissioners accepted this recommendation and the documentary heritage
review group was set up in 2003. The group’s membership and terms of reference are at
Appendix 1.
7.
The review is concerned mainly with the libraries and record offices whose costs are borne, in
whole or in part, by the Church Commissioners. They are the Lambeth Palace Library and the
Church of England Record Centre, both housed in London. The Commissioners also have a
responsibility for the Hurd Library at Hartlebury Castle, Worcestershire which is why we have
considered this library in our review. The review further includes the library of the Council for
the Care of Churches and the Cathedrals Fabric Commission, housed in London, and whose
holdings are of importance to the Church Commissioners’ work.
8.
The entire documentary heritage of the Church of England extends much further and includes
many fine cathedral libraries. All, however, share the same problems: maintaining buildings that
are often very old; providing suitable storage conditions; meeting the costs of employing qualified
staff and arranging access that is suitable alike for Church members, scholars and interested
members of the public. All these libraries are independent and the Commissioners have no
responsibility for them. However, it is hoped that a description of the particular difficulties faced
by the libraries and record centres that come within the remit of this review and the way
forward that is proposed will be useful to the wider Church. Indeed it should be a long term
aim that the Church’s documentary treasures and resources are viewed in the round and that
co-operation between the various parts is enhanced.
1
9.
In addition to the group’s formal meetings, members of the group visited each of the libraries
and record offices listed above, spoke with their staff and received written information about
them. We also wished to consult as widely as possible. To that end, we invited interested parties
to submit their comments. The organisations contacted included archive and librarian groups,
church history groups and public record groups, as well as individual and corporate users of the
collections, governing bodies, dioceses and staff. In addition, an advertisement inviting views was
placed in the Church Times.
10.
The consultation generated a high level of interest and we received 182 responses. We draw
upon the responses throughout this report and a summary of them is at Appendix 2.
11.
All of the evidence that we have gathered from our visits, from the submissions of the libraries
and the record offices themselves, and from the other responses to our consultation has pointed
us towards our conclusions.
3.
The Libraries and Record Offices
i)
Lambeth Palace Library
12.
The Library at Lambeth Palace was founded by Archbishop Bancroft in 1610. It was for the use
of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the wider Church. But it was also conceived as a public
library and has been since the day it opened.
13.
The Library was maintained at the Archbishop of Canterbury’s expense until 1866 when it was
vested in the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. It vested in the Church Commissioners, the
Ecclesiastical Commissioners’ successors, in 1948, and remains in their ownership to the current
day.
14.
The role of the Library was considerably expanded following the Second World War, and
particularly its role as a record repository. New terms of reference were given to it by the
Church Commissioners in 1953. At the same time, the Commissioners brought into being an
expert Library Committee (in 1953) and the Trustees of Lambeth Palace Library (in 1955) to
manage its affairs. A constitution for the Library was agreed in 1978 and a supplementary note
was added to it in 1998.
Holdings
15.
The Library’s holdings include over 600 English medieval manuscripts from the ninth century
onwards and the archives of the Archbishopric from the Middle Ages to the present day. It has
120,000 printed books, of which 20,000 were published before 1700. It has 45,000 pamphlets.
16.
It was strengthened in 1996 by the arrival of part of the Sion College Library. This comprised a
collection of manuscripts and pamphlets as well as a collection of books published earlier than
1851. Sion College Library had been created in 1628 to serve the clergy in the City of London. It
was also a public library from the beginning.
17.
Among Lambeth’s treasures are the only known Gutenburg Bible illuminated in England and the
first printed book known to have been owned by any Englishman. In many cases the Library
holds the last surviving copy of an early book printed in the British Isles. It is particularly valuable
in the field of English sixteenth century religious controversy. As a source for the history of the
churches in the Christian world some respondents have judged that it is second only to the
Vatican Library.
2
18.
It is a Library of worldwide significance. In Britain it can be compared in quality with the
collections of the British Library in London, the Bodleian at Oxford and the Cambridge
University Library, though its size and scope are much smaller. Every year a number of doctoral
theses and research monographs are completed and published that have been to a large extent
dependent on the Lambeth manuscripts and books.
19.
Lambeth Palace Library has always been intimately associated with the Archbishops of
Canterbury, whose historic Library it is. It is both the record office of the Archbishopric and the
repository of the collection of books and manuscripts bequeathed or given by successive
Archbishops. It is also a place of deposit for the records of some national Church organisations
for which there is no other obvious home. Among these, for instance, are the archives of the
Incorporated Church Building Society and the Church Society. For these reasons, the
institutional memory of the Church of England is found more readily at Lambeth than anywhere
else.
20.
The importance of Lambeth Palace Library is that it documents the Church’s history, both
nationally and internationally, and its collections of the working papers and books of successive
Archbishops provide an insight into their preoccupations. In this way it enhances an
understanding of how the Church has been led through the vicissitudes of many centuries. That
in turn should inform those responsible for the Church’s mission as it is carried out today, for
contemporary problems and opportunities have recurred in different forms down the ages.
Administrative Structure and Staffing
21.
The staffing complement for the Library is ten, headed by the Librarian and Archivist. Seven of
these are involved in reading room duties for part of their time. There is a full-time conservator.
From time to time, the Library employs additional staff for special externally-funded projects.
22.
The Library is directed by an expert Library Committee to which the Librarian and Archivist is
answerable. The Committee responds in turn to the Lambeth Palace Library Trust (‘the Trust’)
under the chairmanship of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
23.
As the owners of the Library’s holdings and buildings, with responsibility for the Library’s
maintenance, the Church Commissioners determine most policy issues (other than staffing
policy which is the province of the Trust). They do this through their Board of Governors, by
nominating a member of the Library Committee, and by appointing two of the Trustees of the
Trust.
24.
As well as implementing the Church Commissioners’ policy for the Library, the Trustees of the
Trust invest and deploy funds raised for the Library from outside donors. Further funds are
raised by the Friends of Lambeth Palace Library.
Users and Access
25.
Access is free and is available by post, fax, telephone and, increasingly, by online and electronic
methods. Staff respond to over 4,000 enquiries by post or telephone per year: this is equivalent
to about 15 responses per working day. Visitors can also make use of the Reading Room: during
2004 the number of reader visits totalled 1,800. This is equivalent to about seven per working
day. Opening hours are 10am to 5pm from Monday to Friday.
3
26.
The number of reader visits should be seen in the context of the electronic and online access
available. Many of the Library’s holdings are published in microform and are consulted in that
form worldwide. The Lambeth Palace Library website is increasingly popular and received
475,000 hits in 2004, (or 106,000 visits - a distinction between ‘hits’ and ‘visits’ is made because
one visitor can register several hits as he or she moves around a site). Internet cataloguing has
also been extended. Church Plans Online has been a notable addition to the Library’s facilities
and received 2.5 million hits (70,000 visits) in 2004. In addition, 1.4 million records were
retrieved via the Library’s indexes to its marriage licences hosted on the English Origins website
and 15,000 catalogue files were requested through the Library’s finding aids for archives hosted
on the collaborative Access to Archives (A2A) website. In total, therefore, the Library’s
electronic data received almost 4.5 million hits in 2004 (a figure for the total number of visits is
not available as the four sites are hosted in different places and the statistics are not collected in
exactly the same way).
27.
Those who use the Library’s services include family and parish historians, picture researchers,
architects, teachers and first-degree students. Likewise it is a port of call for academics
interested in the Church, its impact on society from its earliest days up to the present, in the
development of church law and administration, in its architecture and in the story of Christian
mission, in bibliography and in the history of the book. Though up to date on liturgical matters, it
has not aimed, since its reorganisation after the Second World War, to maintain a
comprehensive coverage of modern theological work: it is primarily a Library for historical
research rather than for current theology.
28.
Users find the experience agreeable. We have received no complaints about the relationship
between the Library and its customers. Staff understand the nature of their holdings. One
correspondent told us: ‘I have always been given more rapid and efficient access than in most
national and university libraries here and abroad. I cannot see that the needs of manuscript
scholars and teachers could be better served than they are at present.’ Another correspondent
added: ‘as a user of many libraries, I am invariably struck by the helpfulness, patience and
friendliness of the thoroughly professional library staff’. The Library’s well informed and helpful
team is indeed a major asset.
Facilities
29.
The Library is housed in various parts of Lambeth Palace. A large part of the archival holdings is
kept in Morton’s Tower, which is the gatehouse to the Palace. The Tower also contains a
conservation studio and offices for the Deputy Archivist and two Assistant Archivists. The
Librarian and Archivist’s office is situated in the main part of the Library. Other Library buildings
include the Great Hall, the reading room and three strongrooms, all of which are within the
main Palace, and the Archbishops’ Papers Room which is located between Morton’s Tower and
the main Palace. The bookstack and cloisters are storage areas also situated in the main building
of the Library and they are used to accommodate printed books later in date than 1700.
Funding
30.
The Library’s running costs are covered by the Church Commissioners as part of their
responsibility for See houses. The Friends of Lambeth Palace Library raise funds to assist the
Library in acquiring books and manuscripts.
4
31.
In 2003 the Library’s running costs amounted to £470,000 (£435,000 in 2002). The Friends of
Lambeth Palace Library gave £42,000 to enable important acquisitions to be made such as the
first edition of a theological masterpiece by St. Anselm. Such grants often help to bring forward
other funding. Grants for the purchase of rare books and manuscripts have totalled £477,000 in
the last decade, of which those from the Friends account for £280,000. At the same time, large
amounts have been raised by the Librarian and Archivist for conservation, and by the Trustees
for computerisation and digitisation (over £250,000) and for the provision of accommodation in
the rebuilding of the reading room and the main strong room (again over £250,000). Currently
the Trustees are launching a further appeal for £357,000 for the computerisation of finding-aids
for archives and manuscripts.
ii)
Church of England Record Centre, Bermondsey, London
32.
The Church of England Record Centre was established in 1988 by the amalgamation of the
Church Commissioners’ deeds and filing registries with the archive department at Church
House.
Holdings
33.
Here are held the surviving records of the central organisations of the Church of England,
commencing with Queen Anne’s Bounty, founded in 1704. This body merged with the
Ecclesiastical Commissioners in 1947 to form the Church Commissioners. The Record Centre’s
holdings comprise archives and semi-current administrative records of the Church
Commissioners and of newer bodies such as the Archbishops’ Council. The Centre holds the
departmental archives of the Church Assembly (1919-1970) and of the General Synod (from
1970). It also holds the deeds registry of the Church’s central Institutions and their predecessors
and deeds on behalf of dioceses.
34.
Other archives held at the Centre include those of the National Society for Promoting Religious
Education, the Corporation of Church House and the Queen Victoria Clergy Fund.
35.
The Centre’s historic holdings are significant. Even among its quasi-current administrative
records there is a great deal that is of long-term interest to the social and economic history of
this country from the mid-nineteenth century onwards. The Church’s engagement with
parishes over the past 300 years is well documented and helps to demonstrate the Church's
involvement with society. An example is the development of the Church's urban ministry in the
19th century. The National Society holdings are also a crucial resource for the history of
elementary education.
Administrative Structure and Staffing
36.
The Archbishops’ Council, on behalf of the National Church Institutions, manages the Record
Centre. The Record Centre reports through the Head of the Council’s Central Secretariat to
the Joint Employment and Common Services Board which consists of the Chairmen and Chief
Executives of the National Church Institutions. There is also an Advisory Group, whose
members are representatives drawn from archive and records management professions,
National Church Institutions departments, diocesan offices and registries.
37.
The Centre is currently headed by the Acting Director and Records Manager. There are four
archivists (including the Acting Director), three customer services staff (including one temporary
assistant post) plus one staff member with responsibility for customer services management, site
management and administration.
5
Users and Access
38.
The Centre’s main task is to support the central administration of the Church of England by
providing records management and deeds registry services to the National Church Institutions.
It is primarily a records management facility with an archive function. As noted above, it also
holds deeds on behalf of dioceses and responds to a range of enquiries from them, mainly
concerning ownership of properties. It is also consulted when pastoral reorganisation and church
redundancy is an issue. The archives of the National Society generate questions concerning
church schools and school property. Users of current records consider the collection to be
efficiently run with quick response times.
39.
In 2004, 7,000 requests for the retrieval of records were received from the National Church
Institutions’ staff and 5,300 new records were received and incorporated into the records
management system. There were 1,725 diocesan enquiries and 516 historical enquiries from
members of the public by post and e-mail. In addition, the Record Centre staff dealt with around
750 telephone enquiries.
40.
Lambeth Palace Library enables researchers to gain access to the Centre’s historic holdings by
providing reading-room facilities for this purpose. In 2004, 102 of the 1,834 reader visits to the
Lambeth Palace Library Reading Room were to consult records from the Record Centre.
Facilities
41.
The Centre’s holdings are stored in a converted warehouse on a mix of static and mobile
shelves. The premises have recently undergone major refurbishment. A ‘polytunnel’ was erected
and installed in September 2004. This provides better environmental storage conditions which
are closer to the recognised standard for archival storage.
Funding
42.
The majority of the Centre’s day to day running costs are met by its main customers, the
National Church Institutions. Other significant users (including the Church Urban Fund, the
National Society, CCLA Investment Management Ltd, the Churches Conservation Trust, the
Corporation of Church House, the Church Missionary Society, and the Sandford St Martin
Trust) also contribute.
43.
In 2003, the Centre’s day to day running costs were £573,000 (£576,000 in 2002) of which
£525,000 was met by the National Church Institutions and £48,000 by the other users listed
above.
iii)
Library of the Council for the Care of Churches and Cathedrals Fabric Commission
44.
The Council for the Care of Churches is a national advisory, grant-distributing and educational
body for the Church of England. It helps parishes in caring for, conserving, using and developing
their church buildings. The Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England carries out advisory and
regulatory functions relating to the fabric, contents, setting and archaeology of the Church of
England’s cathedrals and precincts. The staff of the Council and the Commission together
comprise the Archbishops’ Council’s Cathedral and Church Buildings Division.
45.
The Council for the Care of Churches and the Cathedrals Fabric Commission each have a
statutory obligation to maintain a library. This is because informed conservation decisions can
only be made with an understanding of what happened in the past.
6
Holdings
46.
The nucleus of the current library was founded upon the bequest of the Council for the Care of
Churches’ first Secretary Francis C Eeles OBE (Secretary from 1921 until his death in 1954). The
collection was supplemented by subsequent bequests of ecclesiological books and of antiquarian
texts. In 1978, the library benefited from the Canon B F L Clarke bequest, one of England’s
largest private libraries dedicated solely to church art and architecture.
47.
Its holdings surpass, in its own field, those of the National Art Library at the Victoria and Albert
Museum. They comprise about 13,000 books and periodicals, current periodicals as well as plans
and other documents, some of which are unique. There is also a large collection of slides and
photographs. Among the holdings are 16,000 files on parish churches, known as the ‘survey files’,
which are both an historical archive as well as a casework resource for the staff of the Council
for the Care of Churches. These ‘survey files’ are currently held at the Record Centre in
Bermondsey.
Administrative Structure and Staffing
48.
As part of an exercise to reduce expenditure in the National Church Institutions, the post of
librarian was frozen in 2002 when the incumbent retired. A part-time honorary librarian was
appointed in 2003 who is assisted on an occasional basis by another volunteer.
49.
The staff of the Cathedral and Church Buildings Division assist in carrying out the basic tasks
necessary to keep the library functioning and open to visitors.
50.
The Cathedral and Church Buildings Division has set up a Library Working Group which acts as
a management committee for the library and keeps its functions and use under review.
Users and Access
51.
Members of staff of the two parent organisations make extensive use of the material. They visit
the library on average some 24 times per week, mainly to seek material for current cases.
52.
Other church bodies such as the Advisory Board for Redundant Churches, the Churches
Conservation Trust and the Church Commissioners’ Redundant Churches Division also use the
library. The information they receive from the library assists them in carrying out their core
work.
53.
The Cathedral and Church Buildings Division receives regular and wide-ranging enquiries from
parishes, dioceses and cathedrals. The library and the survey files are essential for answering
many of these.
54.
In addition, individual requests for information are received from members of the public from
around the world. Students and authors are regular visitors.
55.
The ‘survey’ files held at the Record Centre are electronically catalogued. There is a card
catalogue only for the rest of the library’s holdings.
Facilities
56.
Apart from the survey files housed at the Record Centre, the library is held in the Cathedral and
Church Buildings Division at Church House.
7
Funding
57.
The library is funded by the Archbishops’ Council. In 2004 the budget was £2,500 (£2,700 in
2003). This covers the acquisition of some new titles (of which there were 35 in 2004) and other
costs such as additional shelving and conservation work.
58.
In addition there is a library donations fund currently standing at £660.
iv)
The Hurd Library at Hartlebury Castle, Worcestershire
59.
The library is named after Richard Hurd, who became Bishop of Worcester in 1781 and who on
his death in1808 left his books in perpetuity to his successors. Before they came into Bishop
Hurd’s possession, some of the books were owned by Alexander Pope.
Holdings
60.
This is an eighteenth century collection of books and manuscripts.
61.
Altogether the library contains some 3,000 titles bound up in nearly 5,000 volumes, of which
2,000 date from the 18th century. The titles reflect Richard Hurd’s wide interests, including
history, travel, mathematics, medicine, religion and literature. Only just over 200 titles were
acquired after Bishop Hurd’s death and nothing has been added to it recently. In this sense the
collection is essentially an ‘historic’ library.
Administrative Structure and Staffing
62.
The library is looked after on a part time basis by a former university lecturer and school
teacher who receives a small honorarium.
63.
The librarian is accountable to the Hartlebury Castle Trustees and reports to their Annual
General Meeting.
Users and Access
64.
Such visitors as there are who come specifically to use the library are mainly eighteenth century
scholars. Local history enthusiasts also come. In addition, the County Museum arranges visits.
65.
The library attracts a lot of enquiries, mainly by telephone and by word of mouth through the
museum guides. These are dealt with by the librarian.
Facilities
66.
The library is housed in its original setting, in a Grade One, listed gothick building which is the
see house of the Bishopric of Worcester. Because of the muted light, cool temperature and
limited use, the condition of the books is good.
Funding
67.
There is no budget as such, though the library has in the past received grants from the British
Library and the Getty Foundation. The University of Birmingham library has also provided help
with cataloguing, conservation and cleaning.
8
Future of the Hurd Library
68.
The Hurd Library is not included in our recommendation. Its future is best considered by the
Bishoprics and Cathedrals Committee of the Church Commissioners as part of its ongoing see
house review.
4.
Assessment
i)
Records Management
69.
In assessing the performance of the libraries and record centres the process of which they are a
part should be understood. Originally every manuscript, every early printed book, every
document studied or drawn up by successive Archbishops and their staff had a practical purpose.
In due course, however, working papers are sifted through and some are discarded. Those that
remain are records. Further thinning takes place at regular intervals in order to select the
definitive archives for permanent preservation.
70.
Books may follow one of two routes to the library shelves. Many are acquired as reference
books and go straight to the library. Others are working books kept on the desk at the outset,
whose immediate relevance may diminish but whose historical interest may increase. Such
books, which were once in regular use, eventually end up on library shelves when they have not
been lost or given away. Whatever the route, once the books are on the library shelves they
should be catalogued and kept in good repair, in order that they may be consulted, even if only
occasionally.
71.
Both Lambeth Palace Library and the Record Centre are engaged in the entire process that leads
from working papers to archives and from working books to library books. The Church House
library is not involved in records management but it is regularly consulted by the staff of the
Council for the Care of Churches and Cathedral Fabrics Commission. To that extent it is a
working library. The Hurd Library is solely a repository. The books it holds haven’t been widely
used for two centuries.
72.
Lambeth Palace Library has never been responsible for the first stage of the cycle, management
of the current papers of the Archbishops. Rather, the Library has received records at a later
date, prior to making them accessible to the public when they are thirty years old. This gives
rise to a certain lack of co-ordination between the Library and the Archbishop’s office,
exacerbated in recent years by the continuing vacancy in the post of records officer in the
Palace. The consequence is that the organisation concerned ends up not knowing what it knows.
It is anticipated, however, that the recent appointment of a Chief of Staff will lead to
improvements in this area.
73.
The Record Centre manages the records management process for the National Church
Institutions but has no oversight of the Lambeth Palace Library process. In short, there is not a
seamless, efficient records management process, automated where possible, that envelops the
Archbishop’s office, the National Church Institutions, the Lambeth Palace Library and the Record
Centre.
74.
The work of the Record Centre is hampered by a lack of clear understanding among its users of
the distinctions between current records, semi-current records and archives. As a result, file
series starting well over 100 years ago are deemed to be still open. This results in unnecessary
handling and transportation of historical material, and limitations on access to potentially valuable
archives. Worse still, a considerable amount of material is neither listed nor boxed and some of
9
it needs conservation. Consequently, usage is lower than it should be.
ii)
Accommodation and Storage
75.
There must be doubts whether the Record Centre’s present accommodation could ever be
brought into line with national standards. Nor is Lambeth free of storage problems. Not all of
its repository meets the appropriate standards for collections of archives. In particular,
conditions in Morton’s Tower are below what is required by BS 5454:2000 Recommendations for
the storage and exhibition of archival documents. Ambient temperatures and relative humidity vary.
From the point of view of storage, some of the printed books may seem to take precedence
over the archives even though the latter are, by definition, unique and may be more fragile.
76.
The need for expansion will also be a problem, particularly at Lambeth. Collaboration between
Lambeth and the Record Centre will be vital for consideration of issues of records and archival
storage in the short, medium and long term.
iii)
Electronic Media
77.
Beyond the current issues of management of existing collections, the Church, along with the rest
of society, must also face up to the challenges presented by electronic media. If the National
Church Institutions are to be able to manage their business information needs and to leave a
useful long-term record of their activities and decisions they will have to develop policies,
procedures and the requisite skills to implement effective electronic document and records
management systems. It seems most appropriate that responsibility for these developments
should lie with those libraries and record offices which have historically been most involved with
storage and management of information. In time, they should reach the position of being able to
provide support and advice on electronic records management to the rest of the Church.
iv)
Outreach
78.
There are also more general issues concerning Lambeth Palace Library. It could be more useful
than it presently is. It is not seen, for instance, as a central resource for the whole Church,
though some Church members do use it, particularly those concerned with ecumenical relations.
This may be because it does not hold modern theological works. Future historians will not be
able to find the thought and theology of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries at Lambeth. It
is not up-to-date on the Church’s current thinking. It is concerned with the past, not with the
present. Paradoxically the Record Centre and architectural library is currently more actively
used by Church staff and Church members for Church purposes than is Lambeth Palace Library
itself. We believe that Lambeth Palace Library should be a central resource for the whole
Church and, to that end, we would encourage reconsideration of the Library’s collecting policy,
especially with regard to modern theology.
79.
Nor is Lambeth Palace Library as well known outside the Church as the strengths of the
collections and the efficiency of its staff suggest it should be and in consequence it is underutilised. Apart from the Church of England itself, the collections also have value for the study
of Roman Catholicism in Britain and of the Protestant dissenting denominations. The Library
also has major collections for the history of such subjects as colonial America (Fulham papers),
Ireland (Carew papers), Tudor political and social relations (Bacon, Shrewsbury and Talbot
papers) and Victorian politics (Gladstone and Selbourne papers). Catalogues of all these
collections have been published in book form, including full calendars in the case of the Carew,
Shrewsbury and Talbot papers. The data will become available online. A number of these series
of papers have been published in microform. The National Register of Archives holds
information on all the Library’s collections, as submitted by the Library itself, and is also
10
currently engaged in the cooperative A2A project (see also paragraph 26 above), making
electronic catalogues of archives and manuscripts more widely available. Moreover all Lambeth’s
records for early books printed in England are available in the national Short Title Catalogue and
in ESTC (English Short Title Catalogue).
80.
Despite the significance of these subjects, and of the steps outlined above to make these major
collections accessible, visitors frequently remark that they had previously been unaware of the
Library’s existence. The British Library, for instance, often has to inform its own users of the
importance of visiting Lambeth. One reason for the Library’s lack of visibility may be that it has
not thought it necessary to integrate itself closely with the wider network of libraries and
archives. It has, so to speak, kept itself to itself.
81.
While Lambeth is well organised in terms of dealing with enquiries, in providing working space
for visitors and in locating the material they wish to consult, the same cannot be said of either
the Record Centre or the specialised ecclesiastical architectural library at Church House or the
Hurd Library in Worcestershire. In various ways they fall short. In particular the library in
Church House and the Hurd Library lack supervision. In consequence access for scholars and
members of the public is more difficult to arrange. Greater collaboration with Lambeth Palace
Library could be helpful here.
5.
Conclusion
82.
The key deficiency, taking the London libraries and record centres as a whole, is lack of
leadership. This vacuum is found at the national level. The individual units themselves have been
well led, often in difficult circumstances as the renaissance of the Lambeth Palace Library since
1945 attests. The Record Centre at Bermondsey, too, has had to overcome many difficulties.
Nobody, however, has considered the libraries and record offices of the National Church
Institutions as a whole, how they relate to each other, how they can be made more effective.
The two major Institutions, the Archbishops’ Council and the Church Commissioners,
preoccupied as they have been by seemingly more pressing matters, have not given this aspect of
the Church’s life the attention it deserves. Yet enhancing information flows within and between
the National Institutions and strengthening their ability to recall what has been done in the past
will assist the ministry and mission of the Church as well as contributing to the public and
scholarly good.
83.
Lambeth and the Record Centre should be better integrated, electronically and managerially.
The central libraries and record offices of the Church should be managed as part of a whole, in
effect an information management system for all aspects of the Church of England including its
current administration, its theology, its liturgy, its history and its buildings.
84.
In other words, the objective should be to establish an integrated National Library and Archive
of the Church of England for its own and public use. To this end, the National Church
Institutions, including Lambeth Palace, should move towards a common system of information
management. Integration would also give staff more scope to enlarge their experience.
Accommodation issues are not addressed here, nor is it necessarily sensible to suggest a physical
amalgamation of all the constituent parts at present, though some amalgamation might follow a
review of accommodation in the future.
85.
The problem isn’t that these proposals are unduly controversial or difficult to bring about.
Once done, it would be wondered why they had not been put into effect decades earlier. The
missing element is leadership.
11
6.
Recommendation
86.
Traditionally a review such as this would make a series of detailed proposals. In the absence of
strong leadership, however, this would be ineffective. Accordingly we limit ourselves to one
recommendation.
87.
A Director of Libraries, Archives and Information Services responsible for the
central records and libraries of the Church should be appointed. The goal to be
worked towards would be the creation of an integrated National Library and
Archive for the Church of England.
88.
We see this post as key to tackling the records management, accommodation, storage, outreach
and other issues that we have identified in this report.
Job description
a)
The Director of Libraries, Archives and Information Services would have strategic responsibility
for the development and management of the current information systems and historical
collections.
b)
More particularly, he or she would have responsibility for integrating and developing the records
management services, archives and libraries of the central bodies of the Church of England
including the Church Commissioners, the Archbishops’ Council, Lambeth Palace, the Council for
the Care of Churches and the Cathedrals Fabric Commission.
c)
The Director should be responsible to the Secretary General of the Archbishops’ Council.
Strategic and operational oversight would be provided as necessary by a small management
group comprising the Secretary General, the First Church Estates Commissioner and the
Archbishops’ Council’s Head of Central Secretariat. The Director’s work would also be
informed by an advisory panel, including representatives of the main users of the libraries and
record offices.
d)
The management group would agree with the Director a rolling three year plan. This would
cover the development of electronic records management systems, accommodation questions,
storage policy, measures to deal with unsorted and uncatalogued material, optimising the role of
electronic resources such as the internet, supervision of the collections, the role the libraries
and record offices play in the work of the Church, their profile and enhanced integration and
communications between them. It would also include staffing levels and staff development.
Time scales and milestones would be set.
e)
The Director would control the budgets of the individual units. He or she would also be
responsible for co-ordinating fund raising and for entering into partnerships. The post holder
should also enhance contact with, and – where practicable and appropriate – provide support
and guidance to, those who have responsibility for the collections dispersed among the selfgoverning cathedrals and dioceses of the Church.
f)
The Director’s salary would be met by the Church Commissioners. It is expected that the cost
will be paid for over time by gains in efficiency and improvements in services.
February 2005
12
Appendix 1
The Review Group and its Terms of Reference
Members
Mr Andreas Whittam Smith (Chairman), First Church Estates Commissioner
Professor John Barron, formerly Master of St Peter’s College, Oxford; Chairman of Lambeth Palace
Library Committee and Trustee
Dr Alexandrina Buchanan, Archivist of the Hon. Company of Clothworkers
Dr Clive Field, Director of Scholarship and Collections, the British Library
Dr Helen Forde, President of the Society of Archivists, formerly of the National Archives
Mr Victor Gray, Trustee of the Rothschild Archive and former Board Member of the Council for
Museums, Libraries and Archives
Mr Jonathan Pepler, Cheshire County Archivist.
Mr Michael Smethurst, formerly Deputy Chief Executive, British Library; formerly Trustee of Lambeth
Palace Library Trust (deceased)
Terms of Reference
Introduction
In response to the second report of the Archbishops’ Review Group on Bishops’ Needs and Resources
(Resourcing Archbishops), the Church Commissioners for England wish to initiate a review of the
arrangements for the housing and conservation of the archives, printed books and manuscripts held by
the National Institutions of the Church of England. The review body will also be asked to consider the
question of the long-term ownership of the various collections, having particular regard to the legal
responsibilities and financial commitments of the Church Commissioners for England.
Review Parameters
The term “documentary heritage” will include archives, manuscripts and historic collections of printed
books. For this purpose, archives would include modern administrative records retained after the
period of immediate use.
A review will consider the future of the Lambeth Palace Library in particular, together with the Church
of England Records Centre and the Library which is maintained jointly by the Council for the Care of
Churches and the Cathedrals Fabric Commission. Other collections owned by the Church
Commissioners such as the Hurd Library at Hartlebury Castle will come within the scope of the
review but cathedral libraries and the records of dioceses and parishes will not.
13
Purposes
Through consultation, the review will seek to define the purposes and value of the Lambeth Palace
Library, the Church of England Records Centre and the Library of the Council for the Care of
Churches for the Archbishop and the National Institutions of the Church of England in general. It will
also seek to define the role of these collections as a national and international research centre catering
for a very wide range of users.
Access
As proposed by the Archbishops’ Review Group [Resourcing Archbishops, Chapter 17, paragraph
17.35.1] the review will examine ways of increasing access to the Church of England’s documentary
heritage for a much wider section of the public as well as specialist readers. It will consider questions
of physical access both in terms of service facilities and location and will consider the financial
implications.
Preservation of the Documentary Heritage
The review will investigate the current preservation requirements of the documentary heritage,
including storage accommodation and make recommendations as to future requirements and their
financial implications.
Financial Issues
The review will be asked to collect information about the present resourcing of Lambeth Palace
Library, the Church of England Records Centre and the Library of the Council for the Care of
Churches. In the light of its findings on issues of access and preservation, the review will be asked to
consider what potential sources of government or private sector funding might be available to ensure
that the documentary heritage of the Church of England is properly cared for and used.
The review should also be asked to consider whether access to such funding would be made easier if
the ownership of some or all of these collections was pooled; and whether there is a case for offering
any of them to the nation.
The administrative costs of the review itself will be borne by the Church Commissioners but no
professional costs will be incurred without prior consultation with those who own and manage the
collections.
14
Appendix 2
Summary of Responses
182 responses were received to our consultation. Of these, 144 included reference to Lambeth Palace
Library; 81 to the Church of England Record Centre; 41 to the library of the Council for the Care of
Churches and the Cathedrals Fabric Commission; and 32 to the Hurd Library.
The review group is grateful to all those who responded to its consultation and for the many valuable
insights that they have provided. The group hopes (subject to the agreement of respondents) to make
the responses available to the proposed new Director of Libraries, Archives and Information Services.
We set out below a brief summary of the main themes to emerge from the consultation:

Almost all respondents stressed the value of the holdings contained in the libraries and record
offices on which they were commenting, with the majority seeing their protection from disposal
or dispersal as paramount.

A large body of opinion was strongly in favour of the work of Lambeth Palace Library continuing
on much the same lines as at present. The majority regarded Lambeth Palace as the most obvious
and suitable location for the Library. Very many tributes were paid to the expertise and efficiency
of the Library’s staff.

Some respondents identified a need to bring the storage areas at Lambeth Palace Library up to
modern standards and others noted that space was at a premium. Concerns were also voiced
about the suitability of the Record Centre’s accommodation for the storage of archives.

Many respondents who commented on the library of the Council for the Care of Churches and
the Cathedrals Fabric Commission and the Church of England Record Centre called for increased
access to the holdings. Linked to this, the location of the Church of England Record Centre was
generally regarded as being far from ideal. Some suggested that the solution to this lay in housing
some or all of the Centre’s holdings elsewhere, for example at Lambeth Palace Library.

There were a number of calls for closer co-operation in general between the London-based
libraries and record offices, building especially on the existing co-operation between Lambeth
Palace Library and the Church of England Record Centre.

The majority of respondents who commented on the Hurd Library called for the library’s
continuing preservation in its purpose-built home at Hartlebury Castle.

A need for more staff and increased funding for all the libraries and record offices was identified by
many respondents.
15
Those who responded to the group’s consultation are listed below:
Dr Richard Aspin, Secretary of the Association for Manuscripts and Archives in Research Collections
Dr Nigel Aston, Reader in Eighteenth-century Ecclesiastical History, University of Leicester
The Very Revd James E Atwell, Dean of St Edmundsbury Cathedral
The Revd Prebendary Dr Paul Avis, General Secretary, Council for Christian Unity
Professor Dr Urs Von Arx, Universitat Bern
Mr Toby Bainton, Secretary, The Society of College, National and University Libraries
Ms Philippa Bassett, Archivist, University of Birmingham
Mr David Bates, Director, Institute of Historical Research, University of London
Mr Hugh Bayley, MP
The Revd R W F Beaken
Mr C A Beck, Diocesan Secretary, Diocese of Sheffield
Mr P F B Beesley, Registrar, Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Mr James B Bell
Mr Eric de Bellaigue
Dom Aidan Bellamy, The Prior, Downside Abbey
Dr B S Benedikz, Honorary Fellow, Institute for Advanced Research in Arts and Social Sciences, University of
Birmingham
Ms Kirsty Bennet
Mrs Stella Benwell
Mr T F Berry, Registrar, Diocese of Bath & Wells
Ms Lynne Bindley, Chief Executive, British Library
Professor Julia Boffey, Professor of Medieval Studies. Queen Mary College, University of London
Ms Wendy Bowen
Mr Paul Boyd-Lee, Member of the General Synod
The Revd Professor Gerald Bray, Beeson Divinity School, University of Samford, USA
Viscount Bridgeman (on behalf of the Friends of Lambeth Palace Library)
The British Academy
Professor Christopher N L Brooke, Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge
Ms Sarah Brown, Head of Research for Places of Worship, English Heritage
Dr Peter Burman, Director of Conservation & Property Services, The National Trust for Scotland
Mr Arthur Burns, Senior Lecturer in Modern British History, King’s College London; Director of the Clergy of the
Church of England 1540-1835 Database Project
The Very Revd N A S Bury, Dean of Gloucester
The Revd Georgina Byrne, Chaplain to the Bishop of Kensington
Miss Sheila Cameron QC (two submissions: i) on behalf of the Ecclesiastical Judges Association; and ii) in Miss
Cameron’s capacity as Dean of the Arches and Master of the Faculties)
Ms Sue Cannings, Secretary, Diocesan Advisory Committee, Diocese of Salisbury
Professor James P Carley, University of York
Mr Graham Cartwright
The Cathedral and Church Buildings Division, The Archbishops’ Council
Dr Andrew Chandler, Director, The George Bell Institute
Mr D N Cheetham, Diocesan Registrar, Diocese of St Albans
Miss J Chrysostomides, Director, The Hellenic Institute, Royal Holloway College, University of London
Mr Nigel Clubb, Director, National Monuments Record
Professor Patrick Collinson, Regius Professor of Modern History, Trinity College, University of Cambridge
Sir Howard Colvin, St John’s College, University of Oxford
Sir Patrick Cormack, MP, Chairman of the History of Parliament Trust
The Revd Nicholas Cranfield
Dr David J Crankshaw, Lecturer in the History of Early Modern Christianity, King’s College London
Miss H J Creaton, Honorary Secretary, London Record Society
Mr Jonathan Cryer, Diocesan Secretary, Diocese of Durham
Mrs J A Dalton, Group Leader, Wealden Decorative and Fine Arts Society Church Recorders
Ms Shirley Davies, Assistant Diocesan Secretary, Diocese of York
Ms Jennifer Davis, Librarian, Sarum College
16
The Revd T P N Devonshire Jones, Director, Art and Christianity Enquiry
Ms Angela Doughty, Cathedral Archivist, Exeter Cathedral
Dr A I Doyle, President, Association for Manuscripts and Archives in Research Collections
Ms Sarah Duffield
Mr D J Dumbleton, Diocesan Registrar, Diocese of Coventry
The Rt Hon Frank Field, MP
Dr K C Fincham, Honorary Secretary, Royal Historical Society
Professor Mirjam M Foot, School of Library and Archive Studies, University College London
Dr Ian Forrest, All Souls College, University of Oxford
Mr Philip Gale, Acting Director, Church of England Record Centre (on behalf of the CERC Advisory Group)
The Rt Revd Jonathan Gledhill, Bishop of Lichfield
Ms Maggie Goodall, Assistant Secretary, Cathedrals Fabric Commission
Dr David Goodbourn, General Secretary, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland
Mrs Margaret Goodrich
Mrs Penny Granger, Member of the General Synod
Dr Joan Greatrex, Senior Member, Robinson College, University of Cambridge
Ms Hazel Green
Dr Jeremy Gregory, Senior Lecturer in the History of Modern Christianity, University of Manchester
The Venerable Dr D N Griffiths
Mr Michael Gullick
Mr J S Hall, Diocesan Registrar, Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich
Dr Christopher de Hamel, Librarian, Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge
Dr Sarah Hamilton, Secretary, Ecclesiastical History Society
Ms Ruth Harris, Wakefield District Archivist for the West Yorkshire Archive Service
Mr Michael J Hart, Acting General Secretary, The United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel
Dr Rosemary C E Hayes, Honorary Research Fellow, University of Edinburgh; Honorary Treasurer, Canterbury
and York Society
Dr Lotte Hellinga
Professor R H Helmholz, The Law School, The University of Chicago
Mr S C Hicks
The Rt Revd Christopher Hill, Bishop of Stafford
Mr Mark Hill, Editor, Ecclesiastical Law Journal
Mr Peter Hoare, Chairman, Historic Libraries Forum
Mr C C Hodson, Diocesan Registrar, Diocese of Southwell
Ms Anne Hudson
Mrs G Hunter
Mr Bruce Jackson, Chairman, Association of Chief Archivists in Local Government
The Revd Canon Eric James
Dr N W James, Director of HMC Advisory Services, The National Archives
Mr Andrew Johnson, Diocesan Registrar, Diocese of Salisbury
Mr David Johnson, Chairman of the British Records Association
Professor C M Kauffmann
Mr Frank Kelsall, Director, Architectural History Practice Ltd
The Right Revd Dr E W Kemp
Mrs Margaret Kidger
Mr T H Kirkman, Diocesan Registrar, Diocese of Leicester
The Lambeth Palace Library Committee and the Trustees of Lambeth Palace Library
Dr Matthew Lavis, Diocesan Secretary, Diocese of Ely
Dr E S Leedham-Green
Mr Lionel P M Lennox, Registrar of the Province and Diocese of York
The Very Revd Christopher Lewis, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford
Dr Julian W S Litten
The Revd Dr Susan Lochrie Graham, Project Director, THEOWEB
Dr John Lowden, Courtauld Institute of Art
Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch, President, Church of England Record Society
17
The Revd Canon Dr Richard Marsh, Canon Residentiary, Canterbury Cathedral
Mr A K McAllester, Diocesan Registrar, Diocese of Chester
Dr A K McHardy, Honorary Vice-President, Canterbury and York Society (writing in a personal capacity)
Mr C D L Menzies, The Secretary, The Corporation of the Church House
The Revd Chancellor M G R Morris
The Revd Dr Alan Munden
Mr Robin Myers, Archivist Emeritus, The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers
The Venerable Clifford Offer, Archdeacon of Norwich; Canon Librarian of Norwich Cathedral
Mrs Jean Pailing
Mr David Park, Director, Conservation of Wall Painting Department, Courtauld Institute of Art; Chairman of
Paintings Committee, Council for the Care of Churches
Ms Mary Parsons
Mr Simon J B Parton, Diocesan Secretary, Diocese of Southwark
Mr E G Peacock
Mrs Rosemary Pearce, Diocesan Secretary, The Diocese of Oxford
Mr Roger Pearse, Editor, The Tertullian Project Website
The Revd Professor R W Pfaff, The University of North Carolina
The Revd David Phillips, General Secretary, Church Society
Dr Colin Podmore, Administrative Secretary, Central Secretariat, Archbishops’ Council (writing in a personal
capacity)
The Revd Dr Albert Pomfret
Miss Susan Pope, Diocesan Secretary, Diocese of St Albans
Professor M H Port
Professor A N Porter, Rhodes Professor of Imperial History, Kings College London
Ms Judith Powles, Chairman, Association of British Theological and Philosophical Libraries
Mr Mark Purcell
Mr Richard Ratcliffe, Director of Archive Liaison, Federation of Family History Societies
Dr Glyn Redworth, School of History and Classics, University of Manchester
Mr John Rees, Provincial Registrar, Province of Canterbury; Legal Adviser to the Anglican Consultative Council
Mr N J Richens, Secretary, Ecclesiastical Law Association
Mr E D Roberts, Chairman and Treasurer, The Liddon Trust
Mr Andrew Roberts
Dr David Robinson
Mr Keith Robinson, General Secretary, London Diocesan Fund
Dr Jan Ross
The Right Revd Dr Geoffrey Rowell, Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe
Dr Frank Salmon, Chairman, Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain
Ms Ann Saunders, Hon Editor, London Topographical Society
Professor Jane E Sayers
Ms Clare Scott
Ms Judith Scott
Mr Paul Seaward, Director, History of Parliament Trust
Miss Janet Seeley
The Revd Dr David G Selwyn
Mr John Sharpe
Dr David J Shaw, President, The Bibliographical Society
Professor Nancy G Siraisi, City University of New York
Professor Paul Slack, Principal, Linacre College, University of Oxford
Mr John F M Smallwood
Mr C J A Smith, Chief of Staff, Lambeth Palace
Dr M A Smith, Lecturer in the Modern History of Christianity, King’s College London, University of London
Mrs Margaret Sparks, Consultant Historian, Dean and Chapter of Canterbury
The Staff of Lambeth Palace Library
Professor Gavin Stamp, Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge
The Very Revd H E C Stapleton
18
The Rt Revd Dr Kenneth Stevenson, Bishop of Portsmouth
Ms W Stevenson, Assistant Cathedral Librarian, The Cathedral Library, Durham
Ms Marion Symonds, Honorary Librarian of the Hurd Library
The Revd Brian Taylor
Mr Colin G C Tite
Mrs S M Tonking, Archivist, Diocesan Registry, Diocese of Lichfield
Professor J B Trapp, The Warburg Institute, University of London
Dr Tony Trowles, Honorary Secretary, Cathedral Libraries and Archives Association
The Revd Garth Turner
Dr John A Vickers
Mr C C Webb, Keeper of Archives, The Borthwick Institute of Historical Research, University of York
The Revd Michael Wedgeworth, Diocesan Secretary, Diocese of Blackburn
Mr Derek M Wellman, Diocesan Registrar, Diocese of Lincoln
Dr Jeffrey West, Secretary, The Advisory Board for Redundant Churches
Mr Tony Wherry, County Archivist, Worcestershire County Council
The Revd Canon Alan Wilkinson
Miss Elizabeth Williams, Librarian, Partnership House Mission Studies Library
Ms Joan Williams, Librarian, Hereford Cathedral
The Very Revd Robert Willis, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral
Dr Susan Willmington
The Revd Canon Dr Robert Withycombe, Senior Fellow, St Mark’s National Theological Centre, Canberra
The Revd Prebendary Alan Wynne, The President, Sion College
Dr Nigel Yates, Senior Research Fellow in Modern Church History, University of Wales
19